


God, I Love The English

by annaregina



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Ben suspects Rey/Hux but he is dumb, Demon fighting but make it Star Wars, Exasperated Rose, F/M, I blame TMI book club love you all, Like, M/M, No Pregnancy, Parabatai Bond, Reylo Prompt fic, Shadowhunters - Freeform, it spoke to me, listen I know I have WIPs but, shadowhunters au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-02 09:13:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23848762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annaregina/pseuds/annaregina
Summary: Prompt from @ann_wasserstein and @reylo_prompts on Twitter: "Rey and her parabatai Hux travel to the New York Institute on a mission. The residents of the institute, Ben and his parabatai Rose don't want extra help, but that changes when they see the British."a.k.a Adam Driver covered in tattoos and dressed in leather is a fic that I just had to write sorry not sorry.
Relationships: Armitage Hux & Rey, Armitage Hux/Rose Tico, Ben Solo & Rose Tico, Poe Dameron/Finn, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 11
Kudos: 33
Collections: Reylo Prompt Fills (@reylo_prompts)





	1. Hit and Run

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter Title from the song 'Hit and Run' by LOLO: "All dressed up for a hit and run / You always liked the taste of blood /And I get off when I point the gun /It's so good to have someone to be so bad with"

“I don’t see why they have to come and help, we very much have this covered,” Ben snarked as he followed the much shorter Rose through the corridors of the Institute towards the front doors where they were due to meet the British Shadowhunters the Clave had sent over to help with their mission.

BeeBee had darted in just a few minutes ago, his ginger tail swooshing happily to let them know the visitors had arrived, and Rose had dropped everything and dragged Ben along with her (as usual) to greet them. They knew nothing about the parabatai pair except a few things Amilyn Holdo, head of the New York Institute, had let them know in her note earlier: they were from the Leicester Institute (wherever that was) and were apparently the best around so they were lucky to get them as all of this was very last minute.

“Ben, we very much do _not_ have this covered. Even with Poe and Finn working with us, we need more people to deal with this,” Rose said sternly, punching Ben’s arm hard enough to make him wince which was no mean feat.

In fact, Poe and Finn were out there now, trying to keep an eye on the problem while Ben and Rose filled in the newbies. It wasn’t only that Ben didn’t like admitting they needed help, it was also the effort of training two new Shadowhunters in the ways of the New Yorkers: they had a good thing, with Poe and Finn parabatai as well, blatantly violating the understanding that romantic attachments between fighting pairs couldn’t work, and Ben and Rose perfectly balancing each other’s aggressive and protective styles of fighting respectively. Another pair, two more unknowns, was a big change, and Ben was –

“Sulking, Benny, you’re sulking,” Rose called before she jumped down the last step and into the atrium, spotting the two lithe figures instantly and beaming as she hurried over.

"Hello! You must be Rey and Hux?” she said, sticking her hand out to shake theirs, “How do you do? I’m Rose, Rose Tico!”

“The British don’t actually talk like that, Rose,” Ben said with an eye roll as he paced over, but he did shake the man's hand, the ginger raising one thin eyebrow at his sullen expression. Ben paid him no mind and turned to greet the woman.

And then he stopped dead.

Having apparently lost the power of speech, he choked slightly and blinked as he took her in. In front of him was, to all intents and purposes, his dream woman.

He knew this, because Rose frequently asked him what his dream woman was like, frustrated with his endlessly single status. There was actually an awful drawing of ‘Benny boy’s future wife’ on the corner of one of their boards upstairs and he made a mental note to burn it before the day was over.

Rey was tall, but not as tall as him. She was muscled, all Shadowhunters were to some extent, but she was slim and tanned, a surprise considering what he knew of Britain, and inked up – with both runes and Mundane tattoos. Her brilliant smile as she said hi to Rose and turned to him was equally as distracting as the tight leather clothing she wore that matched her partner’s.

“And this is Ben Solo, he’s a grump but a sweetheart deep down so don’t be put off by his rudeness,” Rose laughed, and Rey laughed too, her pert nose crinkling up, her eyes bright.

“I am not a grump,” Ben said, grumpily.

Rose rolled her eyes. “Before we get into it, do you guys need anything? Food, drinks, a nap? I know the journey over can be brutal.”

Hux spoke up. “No, thank you, I’m all good. Rey?”

“A cup of tea would be incredible, or coffee if you guys don’t really have tea,” she shrugged.

“We have tea,” Ben scoffed and Rose elbowed him in the ribs. “We have tea, yeah, if you’d want some,” he tried again, attempting to sound polite.

“That’d be lovely, thank you,” Rey smiled, seemingly unaffected by his bluntness.

“I’ll show you guys to the room upstairs, we can take a look at what we’ve got so you’re up to speed while Ben grabs some drinks?” Rose offered, raising her eyebrows at Ben before heading for the stairs to show the Brits to the meeting room that they’d taken over for the duration of the mission. Hopefully Poe and Finn had left it relatively tidy before they left earlier.

Annoyed that he’d been relegated to snack duty but knowing full well Rose had more people skills, he nodded in assent and slipped away to find drinks.

* * *

By the time he returned with a tray of drinks and biscuits (since when did they keep biscuits here? He likes it), Hux’s arms were folded across his chest as he frowned at one of the maps of New York they had pinned on the wall. Rey was next to him, a matching expression on her pretty face as Rose chatted them through the various pins they have placed around the area.

Rey spotted the drinks first and her face lit up. “You’re an angel,” she gushed, swooping over to grab a mug of tea. “Custards creams?! Armie, this place is the best, why do _we_ never have custard creams?” she pouted.

“Because you'd eat them all instantly? But how very British of them,” Hux agreed with a smile at his partner. “Well, that’s Rey settled in then.”

Ben raised his eyebrow at her expression. ‘You’re an angel’ was absolutely not a Shadowhunter phrase – they knew what angels really were. Why was she using mundane phrases with such familiarity?

Rey saw his expression and shook her head. “Sorry, I know it’s a bit jarring. I didn’t know I was a Shadowhunter for ages, I grew up mundane and sometimes it slips through.”

Ben blinked. Grew up mundane? Sometimes Ben wished he had too, being the son of two of Idris’ most famous warriors was a burden he wanted to shrug off, but realising that it likely meant she had grown up parentless sobered him a little and he made no further comment even if his curiosity had been piqued.

Hux touched her shoulder and she blinked hard before turning back to Rose.

“Where were we?” Hux said, giving Ben a glare to let him know he didn’t appreciate him upsetting his parabatai.

“Yes, of course,” Rose said hastily, grabbing a biscuit too before resuming her briefing, leaving Ben to lean against the table, bracing his arms on the edge. “The greater demon seems to have turned the abandoned factory into its ‘base’, so to speak. We’ve yet to find out which demon it is, which means we’re not able to even formulate a plan of attack just yet. The Clave insisted we have more manpower in case we have to do it the old-fashioned way, but I for one would like to try and get more of an idea of what we’re facing before we run in there guns blazing.”

Hux shifted on the spot, dragging his eyes from Rose back to the map. “And the other marks are where you’ve had breakthroughs of lesser demons? What sort of numbers are we talking? And what demons?”

Ben pushed himself off the table and took his usual spot at Rose’s side. “I know where you’re going with this, but there’s been no pattern in the types of demons that might indicate the type of dimension the main guy is from. The numbers of demons have ranged from a few, could be the usual random attacks, up to around twenty at a time. We’ve been hard pressed to run around the city keeping up with them all.”

“But no mundane deaths?” Rey checked quickly, her eyes fixed on him.

“None, I promise,” Rose said firmly. “That’s always our priority, even if we want to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible.”

“What have you found from your observations of the Greater Demon?” Hux asked, his voice clipped with both his stiff accent and his general demeanour.

“The area around it makes you woozy, I know I’ve fainted a couple of times and that’s with runes and pre-warning,” Rose said, handing them both written lists of the effects they’d noted over the last few weeks. “Something coming from it is acidic in nature, we can’t tell whether it’s a side effect of its physical form or something due to its nature. It gives you a headache, regardless of the runes you have on. It’s why it’s taken so long to get the info,” Rose sighed, frustrated.

Rey looked across at Hux and wordlessly raised an eyebrow. He knew what she meant and turned to the bag of their things that he’d carried up, rummaging through it.

“Page 113, Armie,” Rey added but Hux was already thumbing through the pages, looking.

Ben hated that fucking nickname. Who called your partner _Armie_? Ridiculous. He decided to ignore that Rose called him Benny, because that was Rose and it was different.

Hux brought the book back over to their circle but stuck, Ben noticed, very close to Rey’s side, their matching outfits infuriating him once more and his nostils flared at the ridiculousness of it all.

“Here. Does this sound about right?” Hux said, balancing the pages of the ancient book open in his hand. The handwritten notes were cramped and Ben squinted slightly as he deciphered it.

The signs all matched, even the ones Rose hadn’t mentioned.

“This is it,” Rose breathed, taking the book from Hux’s pale hands and scanning it again. “This has to be it!”

Hux looked smug and Rey nudged her hip against his triumphantly, pleased to have been able to help.

“Wait a second,” Ben scoffed, “This demon was killed. Fully killed. Not just banished. There’s no way this is the thing haunting our factory.”

“Says who?” Rey said sharply. “Did you kill that thing yourself? Did you see it die? It’s a Greater Demon, Solo, surely anything is possible.”

Ben smirked. “I didn’t see it die, but my uncle did. So, yeah, actually, _I_ say so.”

Rey and Hux both blinked simultaneously as Rose facepalmed.

“Your Uncle is Luke Skywalker?” Hux asked, dubious.

“Yeah,” he said defensively, jutting his chin out. “He is. Ben _Solo_ , remember? Are all the Shadowhunters assigned to Britain thick or something?”

“Oh Lord above,” Rose murmured, shooting Rey and Hux apologetic looks.

“Not thick, no, we just enjoy spending time not up our own arses,” Rey fired back, stepping between him and Hux, her eyes burning. “Are you usually this rude to guests? He had no way of knowing who you were when you don’t even have the same last name. Not all of us are privileged enough to grow up in Idris. Just because your mummy dines with all the big Clave names doesn’t mean you get to be a wanker, yeah? We just helped, sound grateful.”

Ben knew he really shouldn’t be turned on, but he was. He didn’t even know what a wanker was but it didn’t sound good. Fucking British slang.

Hux seemed to be repressing laughter but it made his face look all twisted like a rat and Ben sneered even as the man rested his hand on Rey’s waist gently, reminding her to relax under his breath.

“Forgive me,” Ben retaliated. “I just assumed you wouldn’t be stupid enough to think that Palpatine, the most famously _dead_ Greater Demon to have ever existed was back, in an old distillery in Manhattan of all places.”

Rey shrugged. “Fine. Have you got a better idea?”

And there Ben was stumped – he really, really didn’t. When he remained quiet for a few more long, awkward moments, Rose peeked through her fingers and looked around the room. 

Hux muttered under his breath and drained his tea in one go, deciding he needed the distraction from the death stares he was now getting from none other than Benjamin Organa Solo, son of two of the most powerful Shadowhunters of their generation.

“So we go off the assumption that it’s Palpatine back again, yeah?” Rey said, turning to Rose who nodded reluctantly, silently asking Ben for forgiveness for siding with the Brits over him.

“Yeah, sure, I’m sceptical myself but… it’s the best lead we’ve got,” Rose sighed, smoothing back her sleek ponytail. “I’ll let Poe and Finn know, they’ll need to be on their guard.”

“Are we taking the shift after them?” Ben asked Rose, his expression stormy but softening when he looked at her – he couldn’t stay mad at Rose for long.

Rose nodded and quickly scanned the page in the book into the machine in the corner, pinning the printout onto the map of Manhattan. “And I’ll tell Holdo. We’re going to need some serious gear for this,” she said grimly.

Ben took the copy of the ancient book from her and read the leather bound cover: “Dang’rs of thy ancient w’rlds?” he read. “What is this bullshit?”

Rey’s mouth was full of another biscuit as she snatched the book back off Ben and tucked it under her arm, swallowing her mouthful painfully fast. “It’s actually a very old, very rare text, _Solo_ , and also mine. So watch it.”

He held his hands up in surrender and rolled his eyes. Rose leaned up and smacked him round the head.

“You two, I’ll show you to the guest rooms and you can get yourselves settled. Don’t even think about taking a watch shift until you’ve recovered from whatever jetlag you’ve acquired, that’s an order,” she grinned, beckoning them over to the door.

Rey stole another few biscuits before they exited, Ben noticed. Because, he thought bitterly to himself, he was already in way too deep with a woman who seemingly hated him.

* * *

Rey and Armitage settled into the guest room the way they settled into any room they were in: by dumping all of their stuff in the middle and examining it from top to bottom. They’d chosen to share a room, which they knew full well would raise some eyebrows considering it was a double bed, but they’d long since got used to people assuming wild things about their relationship.

Hux was the closest thing Rey had to a family, and she wasn’t going to be shamed by anyone for being close to him. Especially not by a certain dark haired, broody but attractive Shadowhunter legacy.

“What do you think of this place, huh? A bit fancier than good old Leicester,” Rey grinned once they’d inspected the room for any hidden runes or monitoring equipment.

Hux grinned, running a hand through his gelled back hair now they were effectively off-duty for the night. “Well, it is New _Yaaaark_ ,” he said, putting on a truly horrendous accent and making Rey laugh loudly as she shrugged off her leather jacket.

“True. The tea wasn’t half bad, though, I’ll give them that. It’s no Yorkshire blend, but it’ll do,” she sighed longingly at the thought of her favourite. She should’ve brought some with her, she usually did when they were sent away from home, but this had been such a last minute thing, the message from the Clave arriving only 12 hours earlier.

“Do you really think Palpatine is back?” Hux asked her, his voice serious all of a sudden.

Rey shrugged with all the irreverence of someone who hadn’t grown up on the myths and legends. “So what if it is? We just kill it again, right? If Skywalker could do it alone, with six Shadowhunters we’ll be fine.”

Hux whistled lowly at her confidence but he was grinning. “That’s my girl.”

“We’ll show them how the Brits do it, right ho, old chap?” Rey said, smirking mischievously and dancing on the spot in a poor attempt at the Charleston. Hux threw a stele at her and she caught it easily, still smirking.

“You’re such an idiot,” Hux snorted, flopping back onto the bed. The pillow hit him square in the face just a moment later.

* * *

“They’re _sharing_ the room?” Ben said, his voice far higher pitched than usual.

Rose shrugged. “Yeah? It doesn’t have to mean what you think it means, babe.”

Ben rolled his eyes, glaring back down the corridor to the guest rooms as he and Rose headed to the main part of the Institute to check in with Amilyn and see if Finn and Poe were back.

“She has a weird nickname for him, they were _very_ touchy feely the entire time and now they’re sharing a room? A room with one bed? They’re definitely together,” Ben seethed.

Rose darted in front of him and pouted, reaching onto her tiptoes to pinch his cheeks. “Awh, ickle Benny, are you sad Huxie-Wuxie stole your girlfwend?”

“Rose,” he groaned.

“Are you super sad that the pretty British girl is already taken?” Rose continued, enjoying herself immensely because she, unlike some people, had actually read the note from Amilyn earlier once Rey and Hux had been sent for. Unlike some people, she knew that Rey and Hux were ‘siblings and parabatai’ and not, as Ben seemed convinced, in love. But she definitely wasn’t going to tell _him_ that when his face was all twisted and red with the effort of denying he was into Rey in a big way.

“Rose,” he muttered, shaking his head. “I hate you sometimes, you know that?”

“You never hate me,” Rose sniffed, knowing full well he wasn’t actually mad with her. He had never once let his temper get the best of him around her, and this wasn’t going to change it. “Look, I know you’re stressed because if that thing is Palpatine back for round two this won’t only be the biggest challenge of our lives, but also a reminder that you’ve got a massive family legacy to live up and all that bullshit,” she ploughed on, even as he gave her a warning look. “But listen to me, take a deep breath. We’ve got this. Us four are the best New York has to offer, and Rey and Hux are the best the British have too. There could not be a better team if we tried. So relax! We got this, Ben, I promise. Palpatine is going _down_.”

Ben reluctantly gave her a soft smile, the smile he saved for Rose and Rose alone. “You’re right, pipsqueak. Let’s tell Holdo what we know and wait for the boys.”

Rose laughed loudly as they crossed the atrium and headed over to Holdo’s office. The leader of the New York Institute was on her feet when they arrived and – much to their surprise – Poe and Finn were already there too, faces grave but panicked as they relayed their news to the lilac-haired Shadowhunter in charge.

“Guys?” Ben frowned. “What’s the rush?”

Poe turned to face them, expression grim. “Get the Brits and arm up. We’ve got an even bigger demon breakthrough in the buildings around the factory. Sensors are suggesting thirty or above, if we’re lucky, probably more. We need all hands on deck.”

Rose swore. “Any mundanes in the area?”

“Not for a few blocks each direction, we checked last rotation, but there could be a werewolf pack around, like Ben reckoned, and the last thing we want is to drag Downworlders into this.”

“Ben, grab Rey and Hux,” Rose ordered, immediately shifting into battle mode, the lightheartedness gone – they had a job to do. “I’ll grab weapons. Meet in the atrium in five?”

Ben nodded – his vendetta against Hux would have to wait. It was time to see how the newbies held up. He pushed through the other Shadowhunters moving through the hallway and sped past the other sleeping quarters, pounding on their door and trying to catch his breath.

Rey answered the door, her black shirt gone, a jumper round her waist and wearing just her leggings and a sports bra, her toothbrush in her mouth. “Whsup?” she mumbled, eyes wide.

“Demon attack at the factory. We need to move now.”

She choked on the toothpaste and hurried over to the bathroom frantically, catching the top that Hux threw at her even as the man nodded at Ben in acknowledgement. He unzipped their bag and started laying out their weapons calmly as Rey wiped her face clean, yanked the shirt on and zipped up her leather jacket again, Ben staring at the muscles in her shoulders moving beneath the inked up skin.

Before he even had think about hurrying them up, they were ready, Rey sliding a dangerous looking curved blade into the holster at her side and tucking what looked like a staff under one arm, securing her hair back into the buns it had been in earlier. Hux’s hair was back to immaculate and he slid throwing stars into the slots on his belt that Ben hadn’t even noticed earlier. He’d give it to them – they clearly knew their way around a weapon. Time to see it in action, he supposed.

“Ready?”

“Born ready,” Rey said fiercely. Ben didn’t doubt it.

“Then let’s go.”


	2. Killing Boys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Title from the song 'Killing Boys' by Halsey: "Told me pick my battles and be picking' them wise /But I wanna pick 'em all and I don't wanna decide"

They made it outside and Poe yanked off the tarpaulin off a line of motorbikes parked up against the institute wall. Rey’s face lit up despite the tense situation and she darted over to run her hand over the sleek metal.

“Are these –“

“Vampire bikes, hell yeah they are,” Poe grinned back, patting a leather seat smugly. “I did them up myself.”

“Finn, with me, I’ll save us time and assume Hux and Rey don’t know how these bad boys work so Rey with Ben, Hux with Rose. Follow me, keep tight formation, it’ll be easier on the glamours.”

Rey and Hux exchanged amused glances – did they think vampire tech hadn’t made it across the Atlantic? – but wordlessly climbed onto their respective bikes, Rey’s arms wrapping tightly around Ben’s middle as he tensed up, concentrating _very_ hard on turning the bike on.

“Let’s goooo!” Poe hollered as he kicked the bike into motion, Finn’s legs tucking onto the footrest behind Poe’s easily as he held onto his parabatai.

The bikes took to the air easily and Rey couldn’t help but laugh with delight, the lights of the city glowing like pinpricks beneath them as they climbed higher into the night air before banking round to head towards Manhattan and the demons running wild.

“You’re a good driver,” Rey called to Ben over the rushing air around them. “Hux is shit, it’s a good thing Rose is driving.”

“Thank you,” Ben said dryly, still torn between frustration and admiration for the woman behind him. “Are you sure you two are ready for this? It’s a lot of demons.”

Rey scowled into his jacket, her expression hidden by his broad back. “More than ready, asshole. Why do you always feel the need to be a dick to me?”

_Because I think I’m in love with you already,_ Ben thought to himself but managed to keep his mouth shut.

“I’ve got a bet for you,” Rey continued, tightening her grip around his waist as he pushed down the throttle to catch up to the other two bikes as they started their descent. The wind was throwing his black hair into her face and Rey swallowed slightly as she caught his scent, reminding herself as she had every ten minutes since she’d seen him walk into the atrium that she was here for work and not for _that_.

“A bet?” Ben scoffed. “What kind of bet?”

“Whoever gets the most kills tonight, if we both promise to be honest about numbers, is declared the better Shadowhunter. The loser has to admit they underestimated them.”

Ignoring her as he brought them to a quick stop on the asphalt of the empty road in front of the buildings, Ben put a foot down to balance the bike and turned his head to where Rose was grinning at something Hux was saying over her shoulder as they landed bumpily with a laugh.

“I’ll take that bet,” he said firmly, letting her hop off the back before swinging a muscled leg over and kicking down the support, turning the bike off and smirking at her. “Bring it on, little Shadowhunter.”

Rey scowled. She was by no means little. She’d show this stupid stuck up _gorgeous_ man who was the better demon hunter – it wasn’t going to be him.

* * *

Poe and Finn led the way to where their sensors had gone crazy earlier, the others pulling out and activating their blades as quietly as they could. Ben eyed Rey’s double ended one warily, having never seen anything like it and not quite trusting it, frankly. Hux held his two in a reverse hold, and Ben restrained himself from rolling his eyes at the ridiculousness. Were all British Shadowhunters this flamboyant?

“Did you enjoy the ride?” Rose grinned, appearing by his side, twirling her dagger between her fingers happily as they crossed over the perimeter.

“Rose,” Ben said lowly, refusing to meet her mischievous gaze. She rolled her eyes and darted ahead to converse with Finn, her hand touching the crescent moon necklace she always wore.

Ben knew it was both a gift from her sister and a very useful piece of gear, capable of letting them know if there was any demon presence around and often picking up on more than the Clave-issued sensors could. It was vibrating against Rose’s collarbones now and she looked back at him and nodded.

“Okay ladies and gentlemen,” Poe muttered as they moved another few metres towards the entrance to the factory, close enough to see that the previously boarded up doors had been smashed open. There was now a gaping black abyss where there had been cleanly nailed planks. “Formations please. I assume you two are familiar with the six-pointed star?”

Rey snorted. “You mean, do we know that three parabatai fighting pairs often stand in a circle? Yeah, I think you can assume that.” She and Hux slotted into place with Finn and Poe and Ben and Rose easily, enlarging the circle so that Rey had enough room to swing her staff without catching the others but not enough room that demons could slip through and attack them from behind.

Finn hit Poe over the head for his idiocy but the man just grinned sheepishly at his partner before calling out the name of his blade, the gleaming edge appearing just as the first demon leapt from the smashed up doorway, scratching its long, curved claws into the pavement as it let out a strangled scream and lunged for the Nephilim.

Poe let out a battle cry and slashed out with his seraph blade viciously, beheading the first demon and giving them all a chance to take in its canine features, twisted and malformed. The corpse was quickly disintegrating as it returned to whatever realm it had crawled from.

Rey and Hux exchanged looks as they all moved towards the doors, Rose placing her witchlight in the centre of the room they found themselves in. A cacophony of snarls erupted from the corridors leading away from the entrance hall and Ben adjusted his grip and cleared his throat.

“You still on for that bet, English?” he muttered to Rey who was next to him, every muscle in her body tense and ready.

“Ready to lose that bet, tosser?” she fired back, but she was grinning, the white witchlight casting shadows across her pretty face, making her look practically feral. Ben shivered.

“Let’s see, shall we?”

And with that he launched into an attack, knowing that Rose to his right would always have his back.

The first wave of creatures descended on them within seconds and all six Shadowhunters threw themselves into the fight, swords flashing in the light, the shadows twisting around them as they moved through the ghostly witchlight. Losing herself to the bloodlust that always came from fighting, Rey stepped back and felt Hux solidly present behind her and she leaned into him as she fought, the two of them using each other's momentum to move faster and harder than they otherwise could have.

Cutting down yet another of the hound-like demons, she turned to Ben with a triumphant smirk, her body gleaming with sweat. “I’m on ten, Solo, where are you at?”

Ben practically growled, knowing full well he was not at ten kills. He wiped his forehead quickly and then wiped his sweaty hands on his top before turning back to face outwards, ignoring her and Hux’s muttering next to him as he focussed. Deep breaths. This was what he did best.

More scratching and screaming echoed down the corridors and Poe beckoned them further into the building, Ben scooping up Rose’s witchlight and tossing it back to her where she caught it easily.

It was Rey who saw the demon first and as it dropped from one of the landings above and twisted expertly, she contorted her body around where its claws swiped through the air to plunge one end of her seraph staff into its side as one of Hux’s throwing stars sliced the paw that had nearly reached her neck clean off, the rotting flesh hitting the floor with a thump. The creature fell and Rey straightened up, cleaning the blade on its matted fur.

“Sorry, my bad, make that eleven?” she said innocently, blinking up at Ben from under her eyelashes.

“Come on, let’s clear this place out and get back to the Institute, I wanted a bath tonight,” Finn protested, clapping the dumbstruck Ben on the shoulder as he pushed past him and deeper into the building.

And, with determination not to be bested by this skinny scrap of a girl, Ben turned on his heel to follow him, his face hard.

* * *

Poe and Finn had estimated fifty demons, but there had to be more than that considering by now, Rey and Ben were on about twenty kills each and the others had hardly been passively watching. They were all exhausted and covered in demon blood and desperate to return to the bikes and get the hell out of here.

“My necklace is barely vibrating now,” Rose promised them all, closing her hand around the cool metal to check it. “One more, I think, judging from how much energy each one was putting out.”

“What are you on, Rey?” Hux called from Rose’s side. Everyone had cottoned onto their competition pretty quickly and, while they all loved the chance to increase their kill count, it had been immensely fun to watch the pair fight over this.

“Twenty one,” she said smugly, smoothing her hair back but continuing to scan the doorways and rooms as they made their way quietly through the shell of the factory. Last she’d checked, Ben was a good few behind her.

“And Ben?” Rose grinned, nudging Hux’s side.

“Twenty one,” Ben said, narrowing his eyes at Rey as she turned to him and mirrored his expression.

“No you are _not_ ,” she snapped.

“I so am,” he retorted, “You calling me a liar?”

Rey scoffed. “One more demon then. Whoever kills it wins the bet. Agreed?”

“Agreed,” Ben said angrily, because she absolutely had been calling him a liar. He was a lot of things but he wasn’t dishonest. If he won, which he would, he would win fair and square.

“I hate this so much,” Poe said mildly, watching the pair of them argue with amusement.

Ben rolled his eyes and turned back to the darkness in front of them as they all continued down the seemingly endless corridor.

They were still bickering at the front of the group when Rose cried out weakly. Ben spun on the spot and was by her side even before the parabatai rune on his chest burned to let him know she was in trouble.

“Rosie,” he croaked, catching her easily even as she righted herself and shook her head to try and get him off her. “What is it?”

Finn swore. “How far have we walked? Have we drifted too close to Palpatine?”

“I thought that was the other building?” Hux hissed, looking up and down the corridor. “How did we get in?!”

“They must be connected somehow, we need to get out of here,” Poe said, his expression tight with concern as Ben held onto Rose tightly, his hand on her forehead and checking her pulse.

“Her necklace wasn’t reading high enough for it to be Palpatine,” Rey protested, shaking her head in confusion. “It was just one more dog demon, she said.”

“I don’t _care_ we need to move _now_ ,” Ben snarled, scooping Rose into his arms easily and backing down the corridor towards where they’d entered. The necklace could've read zero and he still wouldn't take the chance - Rose was unconscious, that overrode anything else.

Finn and Poe quickly fell into defensive positions around Ben and Rose, leaving Hux and Rey to exchange quick glances and then hover a bit further away, ready to attack anything that followed them, seeing by the light of their seraph blades only, the gloom lit up with the heavenly glow. There was silence for a minute as they retreated down the corridor, and then...

“I can hear it,” Hux whispered, setting up back to back with Rey, her own breathing ragged. “I can hear it panting, can’t you?”

“Armie,” Rey said, her voice pitching her with fear as she felt him begin to sway behind her. “Armie, what’s up?”

All too suddenly, he was a dead weight behind her, knocking her over, her staff spilling from her hands and across the floor as she twisted to break her parabatai’s fall. He was out cold, and she could see blood seeping through the slashed fabric of his jacket. Rey screamed as the demon did, the sound turning her blood cold.

Finn and Poe yelled for her but they were be too far away to do anything before this thing killed her – or worse, Armie.

Rey scrabbled from under her friend’s weight and drew her dagger. The demon was upon her in seconds, knocking the weapon from her hands as her head began to swim – this thing wasn’t like the ones they’d encountered before. It was more, it was too much, it was – it was _not_ going to kill her.

Rey had survived the streets. She had survived a swarm of imps armed with just her staff; she had killed a palpis with her bare hands before she even knew what a Shadowhunter was. She was not about to be killed here and now.

With a savage howl, she kicked out violently, pushing it off her torso. Rolling, she pinned two of its legs with hers before it could claw her and locked her hands around its scrawny throat. The scent of death and decay wafting from it as it struggled was pungent, her head was _pounding_ with the need to breathe fresh air, but when she looked beyond it and saw Armie on the floor, bleeding and unconscious, she found fresh strength. The demon didn’t stand a chance as she tightened her grip on its throat, its free claws barely scratching her sides. She gritted her teeth, grabbed the dagger from the floor and ended it with a blade through one rotten, unseeing eye.

Her sides were in agony but she barely felt them as she left the lifeless body of the monster on the floor and crawled over to Armitage, cradling his head in her lap as Finn made it to them and quickly started to cut away his shirt to examine his wound.

“Armie, Armie, please be okay?” she croaked, feeling her own rune burning in response to his weakness. “You cannot die on me, you hear me? I’ll bake my brownies for you again. I’ll stop calling you Ginger Spice. I’ll return all the books I’ve borrowed and never given back.”

“Hey, Rey, he’s gonna be okay,” Poe said as he crouched next to her, Finn nodding his agreement. “It’s not that bad, and it’s nothing we can’t fix up back at the Institute.”

She wiped her eyes fiercely, embarrassed that she was crying at all but she felt _responsible_. “You mean it?”

“I mean it,” Poe said firmly, “We need to get them back which could be interesting considering Rose was driving, but –“

“I can drive,” Rey choked out, “I’ll do it.”

Poe gave her a quick look but nodded – they didn’t really have much choice, if he was being honest. “Sure. But you won’t be able to carry his body weight. Ben can take Hux, if that’s okay with you?” He knew when parabatai were hurt it was unbearable to have them further from you than was necessary.

Rey didn’t like it one bit – trusting someone else with him was a big enough step, but trusting Ben, who had done nothing but antagonise her?

“Fine,” she muttered.

“And I’ll take Rose, Finn will go with you, this all cool with you?” Poe continued as he helped Finn pick up Hux, his already pale face almost ghostly in the dim light.

“It’s not _cool_ but yes, fine, we can do this,” she said, sucking in a sharp breath and raking a hand through her hair, the buns falling out at long last.

She stalked over to pick up their dropped weapons and then followed the boys back to where Ben was carrying Rose, his face mirroring hers. She didn’t like the guy but she knew all too well the pain of seeing your other half injured like that and it softened her to him.

It didn’t take them long to make it back out and the street was cool and quiet and Rey nearly sobbed with relief as Hux stirred slightly as Ben helped him onto the bike and sat behind him to keep him secure, Rose clutching onto Poe’s neck on their bike.

“Let’s go,” she muttered, swinging her leg over the seat of the third one and feeling Finn settle in behind her. “I want to be out of here.”

Poe nodded and Rey gestured for them to go first so she could keep an eye on both the injured Shadowhunters as they made the short journey back to the Institute.

* * *

Once they’d made it back, Hux and Rose were settled gently into the little infirmary in one wing of the old church and Poe and Finn were left to debrief Holdo as both Rey and Ben refused to leave their parabatai’s side.

Armitage was sleeping soundly, the demon poison in his chest wound having been removed carefully by Threepio, the Institute’s resident scholar and healer, but Rey still held his hand tightly, smoothing back his fringe softly as she watched his healing chest rise and fall.

She hadn’t noticed Ben moving by Rose’s bed opposite, and she jumped when she felt a gentle pressure on her shoulder. Looking round, she wiped her eyes again and glared up at Ben, who was looming over her holding a mug of steaming tea.

“I figured you could do with it,” he said gruffly, holding the mug out to her and nodding to the side table where he’d dumped the rest of the packet of biscuits, the ones she’d been devouring before.

She gaped at him in shock but wrapped her thin fingers around the mug gratefully and offered him a tentative smile. “T-thank you?”

“You’re welcome,” Ben chuckled, resuming his position by Rose’s side. “Are _you_ okay? I saw that thing scraped your side, want me to check it out?”

“Why are you being nice to me?” Rey muttered. She didn't really need his help, her runes had sorted out the worst of her injuries and there was only a dull ache now, but the gesture meant a lot.

Ben chuckled slightly. “Have you seriously forgotten, English? You won, remember. You got the last demon – with your bare hands at that. I can’t lie I was impressed.”

She still glared at him suspiciously.

“You won, you’re the better Shadowhunter, Rey,” he smiled. “I’ll admit it. I underestimated you.”

“It wasn’t worth it,” she said, turning to Hux again. “I should’ve been more careful. It’s not worth it when he’s hurt.”

Ben raked a hand through his messy hair. “How long have you been together?”

Rey smiled gently, remembering the first time Hux, a scrawny kid, had found her fighting off a demon in a side alley armed only with a rock and her wits. “Since we were kids. He’s my best friend, you know? I mean, obviously, parabatai and all that, but… he really really is.”

Ben’s heart twisted – there was absolutely no chance she would break it off with the man then. Time to put his little crush to bed. “Wow. That sounds… intense.”

“What about you and Rose?” Rey smiled, dunking a biscuit in her tea and secretly wishing they had party rings, God she loved party rings. She was, of course, completely oblivious to the impression Ben was under about her and Hux.

“We grew up together,” Ben grinned, flicking Rose’s wayward hair off her face carefully as she slept. “Her older sister was in my class at school but Rose was always my best friend.”

Huh. School. What was that like? Rey had been on the streets, completely unaware of her heritage and fighting off demons who smelled her Nephilim blood and came for her until Hux had stumbled across her and taken her back to the Leicester Institute. Her whole world had opened up in an instant and she’d never been alone since. She’d been educated there, trying to catch up on what she’d missed out on and find out who her parents had been; she’d never been to Idris, never really left the UK until recently. This trip to New York was her second time abroad and so far, as she glanced back down at Armitage, she fucking hated it.

“That’s cute,” she said tiredly. “She’s lovely.”

Ben looked up when Amilyn entered the infirmary. “Yes, boss?”

“We need two Shadowhunters to take over watching the factory. It was supposed to be you and Rose, I believe?” she asked and Ben nodded, glancing across at Rey. He knew where this was going.

“And now you want us to do it instead?” Ben said raising an eyebrow.

Rey didn’t look too happy, but he suspected it was more to do with having to leave Hux than having to watch a building – he was similarly unimpressed but he knew there was a job to be done.

“Precisely. They’re more than happy to pick it up in the morning so you can be back here with these two, you won’t be gone more than a handful of hours.”

Ben knew that Finn and Poe were likely only conceding defeat because they were dead on their feet. He nodded. “Sure, yeah, I’m in.”

“I’m in too,” Rey nodded, finishing the tea and the packet of biscuits. “It’s something to do other than sit here and worry about him.”

“Then let’s arm up and get out there,” Ben said with the ghost of a smirk, his heart jumping when she returned the look.

* * *

They took a taxi across town this time, not wanting to lug the bikes back out there, and it hadn’t taken too long even with the usual New York traffic. Rey’s eyes had been fixed to the glass the whole way there, staring as the blocks rolled by and Ben found himself smiling at the endearingly child-like way her large eyes lit up at the glow of the city. He’d not said anything to her about it, but he had jumped round to grab her cab door when they reached the right street, earning himself a raised eyebrow and a tentative smile.

“We’re camping out on a rooftop?” she scoffed as he used his stele to get them into the abandoned building opposite the factory complex that the Greater Demon was hiding in. “I’d say it was romantic if we were anywhere else.”

Ben smirked. “Romantic? With me? I thought you hated me.”

Rey whacked his chest as they bounded up the stairs and she couldn’t help but notice that his chest was… extremely muscled. _He’d look great topless_ , her brain supplied unhelpfully.

The stakeout gear the Shadowhunters had left from previous shifts was still there so Rey immediately wrapped a puffy jacket around herself and settled on a little camp stool. They’d grabbed food and flasks of hot coffee before they’d left, but there were some left over snack bars (chocolate ones, so Ben suspected they were Finn’s) and Ben started organising the area as Rey watched him.

“Are you like, a neat freak?” Rey asked with a little grin. Ben could see her freckles in the flood lights.

“Are you, like, messy as fuck?” Ben retorted, mimicking her accent.

Her grin only widened as she settled back on her chair, her eyes roaming over his body as he worked, eyeing the tightness of his shirt across his back and the hair she’d like to run her hands through. His arse, too, now that was-

“Quit staring at me,” he called and her cheeks flushed a dark red as she shifted her gaze to the building.

Well great, now she couldn’t even appreciate the view without him sensing it. Boo.

She tried to reason with herself: he could be an arsehole and still be attractive. Plenty of people were both irritating to be around and also incredibly beautiful. Ben Solo was clearly just one of those.

“You’re still staring.”

“Oh for God’s sake, how can you even tell?” she whined, rolling her eyes.

“Because… Because I think I can always feel your eyes on me,” Ben admitted, turning back to face her now there was no more tidying to hide behind.

Rey blinked up at him. “What?”

The quiet of the night was making him bold – stupidly bold, he reckoned. It was just the two of them, and she was no longer acting like she hated him, what did he have to lose?

“I know you’re with Hux, I know you aren’t going to be in New York for long, but… I like you,” he choked out. “I know, surprise, I’ve been an ass so far, but I do.”

Rey didn’t know what he meant about being with Hux, but her head was still reeling from the other revelations and her confusion was lost. “I like you too. I respect you,” she shrugged, watching him curiously. “I mean, you absolutely have been an arse, yeah, but I get it. People coming into your Institute to help, it’s not exactly fun.”

Ben hesitated a moment before sticking his hand out. He could be her friend even if he couldn’t ask for more. “Truce?”

Rey’s smile was more brilliant than the lights above as she took his hand and shook it firmly. “Truce.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May the Fourth be with you all! As I currently have two other WIPs, updates on this fic will be sporadic but I hope you enjoyed this update nonetheless! Taking more requests for ideas because frankly all my brain wants is kissing and while we're gonna get that, if y'all wanna see anything else let me know LMAO

**Author's Note:**

> So I wrote this intro chapter with full intentions to write at least a few more as inspiration strikes. I do not have an actual plot yet really I wrote this on vibes only so please if you have any ideas let me know I am taking requests lmao.  
> Much love to the TMI Book club who begged someone to write this and sent the prompt in the first place!!


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